I read a 2003 thread that showed a japanese mod for raising the steering wheel simply using shims or wahers but it kind of fizzed out.
Has anyone carried this out and if so:
A: Was it as easy as it sounded?
Bid it make a reasonable difference?
Cid it affect the way the car steered at all?

Any info appreciated.

 

Link?

 

If you've carried out this mod you'll know and won't need a link to the original 'how to' japanese script post.

 

it's probably easier and safer to get adjustable height seat rails.

 

Project 22, if I was in the US I would, believe me. I'd love to lower my seat using the rail method. Buying and sending one seat rail kit over to New Zealand is probably a $700 (NZD) outlay.
Great country........................long way from anywhere.

 

Boy, being able to get the steering wheel up a little would certainly bring a smile to my face. I've never looked at how the wheel is attached, I guess I'm going to have to look now.

Changing height shouldn't change anything about how the steering feels and I have no idea why anyone would think this would be unsafe.

 

Back in 03 I looked into this mod that was on a japanese site that is no longer works. What I recall, it showed small stepped or u shaped wedges installed on the back of the column, and when the column is bolted back up, the wheel is tilted a bit back towards the windshield. I think they got 3-8mm of upward movement of the wheel. I did stack a washer or two on my 03's lower column bolt to try to duplicate this.
That old site was cool in that it had pics, and p/n's. I even thought that it was some kind of OEM offering.

 

The steering column is held in place by bolts pulling it UP into the dash. You have to back out those bolts and lower the steering column to remove the instrument panel - I did this once to remove the stereo controls on the left side of the dash. While you have the column dropped, you can insert shims or washers above the column to mount it in a LOWER position. I don't know how could raise it with the way it's mounted.

 

Boy being able to raise it sure would make it easier to enter and exit the car, but it it's pulled UP to the dash then I don't see how you could raise it, only lower it.

 

Actually it is NOT held in place by U-Bolts at all. There is a U, but it is not a bolt. See below

There are two bolts welded to the crossbar under the dash. Two nuts (#9) hold the front of the column. The bottom of the column is held in place with a U bracket (#2) and two bolts.



To so raise the steering wheel, you would need to lower the rear of the column. To do that I would remove the U bracket and fab a flat plate that would go under teh column and push the bottom down, there by raising the wheel.